Hands In My Pocket

Occasionally, I would get people standing in the accused box with their hands together as though they had handcuffs on. I guess its just natural, after seeing it in movies. That should not be the case. All accused should not be in cuffs when they are in the dock. I myself have personally ordered the police to remove the accused’s cuff when they are seated in the dock in my Court.

Some would put their hands in their front / back pocket, hug their body, scratch their head, wipe their face, scratch their back, put their hands by their side like a soldier, stand up damn straight, slouch as though they have no backbone, fiddle their fingers, etc etc. I find it really amusing how your body react to the way you feel at that time.

Macam kucing…

Blog adjourned.

False Alarm

Yesterday, the fire alarm went off (or went on??). I was just about to get up on Bench when I heard it. I paused, looked around and asked my staff if it was for real. They were not sure. I then decided to have some fun.

I “ushered” everyone out of the Court. I was screaming “API API SEMUA KELUAR SEKARANG!!! (FIRE FIRE EVERYBODY OUT NOW!!!!)” I was grinning and screaming at the same time. I went to see my lock up because I had one accused in remand. Luckily he was already on his way back to prison.

I then went to check with my colleague next door. His story was much more interesting. He is a committee member for the safety division. He was on the bench when he heard the alarm. He asked his interpreter if it was the fire alarm. Upon confirmation from his interpreter, he jumped and yelled, “Court Stand Down! Everybody Out!” He rushed down and saw me. Together, we went around asking everyone to vacate the building.

Rupa-rupanya it was just a hoax. Either someone vandalized the damn thing or the FireMAn accidentally tripped the trigger during inspection. I think it is the latter. So I went to the gathering place and congratulated everyone for still being alive and informed them it was a fire drill and the Court would resume in 10 minutes.

What a day!!

Blog adjourned.

Speechless...

My cousin / neighbour got hitched last week. Ariff and Lana looked so beautiful that night. He specifically requested that I gave a speech on his big day. I thought I'd share it with you all...

Speech for Ariff Alhabshi’s Wedding Reception.

The brain is a wonderful thing. It never stops functioning from the time you're born until the moment you stand up to make a speech.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

My name is two_one (hehehe). I am the bridegroom’s cousin and neighbour. Today I have been asked by the bridegroom to say a few words about me, I mean about him. He rang me sometime ago. He asked me if I could say a few words about how we grew up. I was shocked! “Beb… buat ape ko nak aku cerita pasal kita, cerita pasal engkaulaa…” He just laughed and forced me to say yes. So here I am, fulfilling this difficult task.

Difficult task because it is not easy to say just a few words about him. I had sleepless nights picking out the incidences worth mentioning. Too many were there to select from. None of them were appropriate.

Ariff and I go back a long way…

I have known Ariff the moment I started to realize that there were other beings in this world except for my mom and dad. We clicked even before we could remember when. Even our bride’s names bunyi macam nak sama. Ariff’s bini muda’s name is Lana whilst my isteri muda’s name is Liyana. There is nothing that I would not do for Ariff, likewise there is nothing that Ariff would not do for me. In fact, we spent most of the time doing nothing for each other.

I remembered playing toys together when we were small. I had a He-Man miniature and he had He-Man’s Green Tiger named Cringer or Battle Cat (both of us didn’t know the name back then. I had to look it up on Wikipedia). He-Man and Cringer could keep us occupied for hours whilst our parents would have the so called “adult conversation”. Bed time was always extended back then.

Since then, we have had many epic adventures together. School holidays would usually see us being intrigued with the many activities. Some interesting and some just dead boring. We once watched Power Rangers the Movie over 4 times in one day just because we could. Not to forget Beauty and The Beast and Aladdin. I can still remember Ariff going goo goo and gaa gaa over Kimberly, the Pink Ranger and how we would mimic the Beast after he had his hair cut, “this looks soo soo Stupiid…”

I can safely say that Ariff has, in a way, shaped my sense of humour. If you find this speech rather unfunny, you can blame him.
Growing up with him, I am lucky to have a senior whom I can look up to and one who understands. Ariff is open enough to accept criticism and wise enough to reciprocate advises when needed.

I am truly happy to be here to share with the both of your happiness. I am confident that this feeling can remain for eternity but with much effort. As they say, marriage is made in heaven but solemnized on earth. My advice is to praise the Big One Up There for every single thing that makes you happy, as He has promised when He said in the Qur’an in Surah Ibrahim verse 7:

وَإِذۡ تَأَذَّنَ رَبُّكُمۡ لَٮِٕن شَڪَرۡتُمۡ لَأَزِيدَنَّكُمۡ‌ۖ وَلَٮِٕن ڪَفَرۡتُمۡ إِنَّ عَذَابِى لَشَدِيدٌ۬ (٧)

And when your Lord proclaimed: If ye give thanks, I will give you more; but if ye are thankless, lo! My punishment is dire. (7)

In other words, if you are grateful to Him, He will add more satisfaction and favours unto you… This mentality is also very much appropriate for bedroom purposes.

Therefore, before I bore everyone to sleep, I have the following conclusion to make.

To Arif, my dear cousin, remember, Marriage is a bilateral relationship where one person SHALL be right, and the other is the husband. Jokes aside, I really want to share this hadith with you.

Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said:

"Take my advice with regard to women: Act kindly towards women, for they were created from a rib, and the most crooked part of a rib is its uppermost. If you attempt to straighten it; you will break it, and if you leave it alone it will remain crooked; so act kindly toward women".
[by Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

And to Lana, the newest recruit to the Abdul Kadir Alhabshi’s family, the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) also said:

"The world is but a (quick passing) enjoyment; and the best enjoyment of the world is a pious and virtuous woman". [by Muslim]

I’m sure that you are, and I pray that you will forever be Ariff’s best enjoyment!

Ladies and Gentlemen:

Ariff is a truly lucky guy to have spotted Lana and Lana is as truly lucky to be stuck with him forever. And finally to everyone, on behalf of the bride and groom, I’d like to thank you for your presence and for your presents.

Jazakallahu Khair and Thank you.

So... Whadya Think?

Blog adjourned!

Cover Line...

Speaking of boo boo’s, I have made a couple of blunders myself. Once I was on the bench and the interpreter read both of the charges to the accused. The two were as follows:
1. No driving licence.
2. Reckless and dangerous driving (Rempit offence)

S.42 (Rempit offence) of the Road Transport Act requires me to suspend the convicted accused’s driving licence for a period of two years. Being excited (it was my second week on the Bench), when I was about to deliver my judgment, I asked the accused:

“Where’s your driving licence? Give me your driving licence.”

“Erm.. Tuan, I don’t have a driving licence…”

Gulp!! I read back the charges and realized that he didn’t have any licence. That was why he had two charges meted out against him.

Embarrassed? You think? Being in open Court, with everyone in the public gallery being present not because they had nothing better to do but because they had a matter to settle in Court. Now they see the Magistrate who is about to deal with their matter is careless enough to ask for a driving licence when the chap was charged for not having a driving licence!

Cover up is most important in this situation. But do it truthfully.

“Oh... you are right! You rode your bike dangerously and recklessly WITHOUT a driving licence… Tsk tsk tsk”

I then proceeded to deliver my judgment and quickly moved on to the following cases. After that, I have always double check the charges before I asked for anyone’s driving licence…

Blog adjourned!

Be prepared!

It’s always good to be prepared. That is why I would read my files thoroughly. I wanted to understand fully the matters that I was entrusted to deal with. I tried to make sure that there is no room for anyone to twist their facts before me. It took me quite a while to really catch the hang of things as an SAR. Once I was comfortable with my matters, I didn’t need to read every single thing in a file. I knew where to get the necessary information. That helped me a lot. It gave me more time to do many other things.

I would pay extra attention to cases where the counsel is late. My matters would start at 9 am. I am the type of person who would call the counsel’s firm and ask them why they are not before me yet. Sometimes, I would be outside my room and hang around at the bench where the counsels would wait for their cases to be called up. Not many counsels would recognize me. There are too many lawyers in Kuala Lumpur and knowing a SAR is the last thing in their mind. As I sit there and wait for the arrival of the counsels for my matters, I could see how the counsels’ face would change when they step out of the commercial division door.

“That bloody SAR thinks she can order this and that. Who the hell does she think she is? She thinks she is so sma ha ha he helo there Tuan… I didn’t know you were here… have you had your breakfast? I better make a move first… have a nice day Tuan!!”

After waiting for some time out there, I’ll retire to my chambers and really read my files. Once I had a chambering student appearing before me about 2 hours late. She was panting when she came in. Probably it was due to running because she was late or it could be that she is a really good actress. I think it’s the former. Her panting looked genuine. Bear in mind that I had her facts of the case at the tip of my finger as I had 2 hours to run examine every single detail. I then proceeded to ask her why she was late and she replied that she forgot to put the date in her diary. I told her that this lackadaisical attitude is not good and will only obstruct her from going far in her legal career. This was a High Court commercial matter and it file should be worth more than RM250,000. Her boss and client would certainly not be happy if I struck out her case.

I then allowed her to continue. She went on and completed her submission. Then I asked her:

“Have you read your file?”

“Yes”

“Did you paste the notice on the building?”

“Erm… Yes.”

“Are you sure? Why is it in your affidavit at paragraph XX page XX your staff saif that you didn’t paste it on the building?”

*Flip*Flip*Flip*Flip*

“Oh… we didn’t paste it on the building”

“Why didn’t you?”

Then she realized that I have read her case thoroughly as I memorized all the details without looking at the files. Actually, I planned to query her about that particular fact as I was sure she didn’t read her file. Plus it would make me look like I knew inside out about that file if I could remember certain details like the page and paragraph number and not looking or flipping the pages.

She didn’t dare to lie anymore. She tried to look for the answer but she stopped a couple of pages before she could reach the answer. She looked at me and admitted defeat.

“I don’t know why we didn’t paste the notice on the building”

I allowed about a minute to pass without mentioning anything. That really helped to amplify the suspense… jeng jeng jeng…

“Counsel… Look at page YY and at paragraph YY. The reason why you did not paste the notice on the building is because they had already demolished the building. How in the world are you supposed to paste a notice on a demolished building?? You should read your files before you come to Court and never ever try to mislead the Court. Remember this and please be punctual next time. Order in Terms”

I wonder how she is right now…

Blog adjourned!

Ow Yit??

No, this post is not a continuation of the Chinese translation incident of my previous post. :)

Handling commercial matters as an SAR, I did have some problem in the beginning. All the issues, be it regarding to the law or the facts, were new to me. The bundles of authorities were very extensive. The contracts can go up to "berpuluh-puluh" bundles. Although not all of the clauses are necessary but to strengthen their cases, such documents needed to be produced in court, authenticated by a commissioner of oath. So you can imagine the cost of bringing a simple suit in court…

Anyhow, for interlocutory applications, the counsels who manage to convince the SAR would just die to hear the SAR say, “Order In Terms” (OIT). This means that the SAR agrees with you and you have successfully proven your case to win the application you requested. It is also known as “Perintah Seperti DiPohon (PSP). “Application dismissed” is what your opponent would love to hear instead.

Having that in mind, I once had a chambering student (after ‘reading’ law at a local law school and before you be an advocate and solicitor in Malaysia, you need to do ‘chambering’ or pupilage for nine months) submitting for (if I remember correctly) a judgment in default application. A judgment in default is an automatic right (should you have all the papers in order), if the Defendant failed to enter appearance after 14 days upon receipt of the Writ of Summon. She was reading a script that was prepared for her by someone else. At the end of her speech, this was what she had to say:

“Tuan, I pray for Ow Yit”

“For what??”

“Ow Yit Tuan”

“Do you mean O . I . T? Order in terms??”

“uh oh.. *face turning red*fidgeting left and right* Yes Tuan,”

Oh dear oh dear oh dear…

I was told by a senior civil magistrate that he had someone requesting for “pessep” in open court before. “Pessep” probably came from reading PSP as a word and not an abbreviation. The best part was that the Magistrate was cool enough to continue, “ ‘Pessep’ granted!”…

“Tuan, may I request for a humble blog adjournment”

“Ow YIT!

Comedy Court

Another funny incident today….

A Chinese man was summoned to court for a traffic offence. When he came up to have the charge read, my Chinese interpreter started to read the charges to him in Mandarin. It sounded something like this:

“Ching chong ching chong tze tzi tzu tzu”

This went on for about a minute. I saw my Road Transport Department prosecuting officer began to smile seeing my interpreter explaining the charges to the Chinese man. He didn’t seem to understand in the beginning but later on he started to nod. As is said earlier, this went on for about a minute or so.

Then, my interpreter turned to me and said, “He pleads guilty”. I knew what happened but I started to laugh on the bench. I asked her, “it must be really hard to speak Mandarin. You went ching chong with him for nearly a minute and the translation was only ‘he pleads guilty’???”

That had the whole court laughing.

Haih... blog adjourned...

Buckle up!

Today I handled a straigh forward case of driving without a safety belt. The chap got a ticket for not wearing his safety belt somewhere in Kuala Lumpur. He claimed trial and decided to be his own defence counsel. Apparently, he used to practice law before. I read some time ago about an old English which says that he who defends himself has a fool as his client. I think the chap in my court today was the exception to that old saying. He presented himself quite well.

The prosecution had 4 witnesses but took the testimony of only 3 witnesses. All 3 witnesses were the policeman on duty at the roadblock station.

After that, the accused proceeded with his submission of no case to answer. I allowed the prosecuting officer to reply and the accused to reply the prosecutor’s reply. I then gave myself 1 month to decide if there should be a prima facie case against the accused.

The trial started at 2.40pm and ended at 5pm. This means I had been writing for 2 hours 20 minutes flat out. FUYOOO… Penat jugaklah… I hope they amend the Criminal Procedure Code to allow us to record criminal proceedings instead of writing them down.

I am really excited as this is my first case where I manage to complete the prosecution’s case and manage to complete the submissions of both parties. It all boils down to me to finally decide whether there is a case against the accused after all. I gave myself 1 month to decide.

Good luck to justice!!!

Blog adjourned!

Say What???

A funny thing happened today in my open court. One chap was summoned for riding a motorcycle without a valid road tax. Funnily, when I asked him, why he still rode his bike without a valid road tax, part of his reply was this gem:

“Saya sudah renew insurance tapi sebab ini motor sudah lama tak renew road tax, mesti mau pegi JPJ buat “infection”, kemudian baru boleh renew road tax.”

Translation:

“I have already renewed my insurance but since I have not renewed the road tax for some time, I need to send the bike for “infection” before I could renew my road tax.”

I was grinning from ear to ear hearing what he had to say. I wanted to ask if the Road Transport Department gave his motorcycle any anti biotic or medication for the “infection” during the inspection but I decided to just let go of such cheap thrill…

Blog adjourned…

Got Patience?

I was watching Evans Almighty the other day. A good movie it was though it is certainly not appropriate for young Muslims as it does not depict the true teachings of Islam. I say so because of many reasons one of it being that God does not represents Himself in the form of a creation (i.e. in a human form) since He is the Creator. Unless you have a solid foundation in the sense that you are able to differentiate between a movie and reality especially made by non-Muslims who did not base their storyline with the Syariah (note that it is not expected for them to do so in the very beginning), it’s better not to confuse yourself from the very beginning by watching the movie.

Anyhow, there were some parts of the movie that tickled my thinking cells in my brain. Ill elaborate two particular lessons that I think are worth mentioning.

The first was the scene when Evans was questioning on how he could change the world. The answer was simple. The first step to change the world is by taking an act of random kindness. In that movie, the example given was putting some water for a dog to drink. I thought it was a sweet thing to do and I’m not interested to elaborate further here.

The second, (and this lesson smacked me right in my face,) was when Evans’ wife was receiving some informal revelation in a restaurant. Evans’ wife was told that when anyone asks for patience or courage or love, God does not simply place patience or courage or even love in one’s heart. God would give an opportunity or a situation where that person can BE patient or brave or to love another person.

Why I say that this lesson smacked me straight in my face was because I remember specifically praying to God to grant me patience sometime ago. I repeated this prayer many many times. An then… I broke my tibial bone whilst playing futsal after whacking my best friend’s leg (who was my team mate that time) !!! I was in a cast for about 10 weeks. My God!!! I nearly lost my mind not having the freedom to move freely. Then I saw Evans Almighty and I realized that hey, the second lesson does make sense.

I feel that after being in a case for about 10 weeks and trying my very best not to irritate others too much because of my own frustration, really gave me the opportunity to be more patient. Credits go to the Bride for managing to endure such strenous epic with not a single complaint!!!

My dad told me once that it’s never easy to be patient and that patience requires a lot of practice. It is also mentioned in the Quran that verily, God is with those who are patient…

Blog adjourned…

You got a problem? Solve it yourself!!!

I had an argument with a counsel for the defendant once before when I was an SAR. Apparently he was quite “notorious” and loves to pick on fresh SAR. I was relatively new at that time (only a few months experience). It was only an interlocutory application. I asked him how many issues he had. He said four. I then asked him if he wanted to lay down the facts for me. He said no and that he wants to start with his first issue.

He then proceeded to submit the facts of the case.

I stopped him and asked him again, if he wanted to lay down the facts for me. He looked at me, took off his glasses and said:

“Don’t think just because you are sitting on that side of the chair, you get to tell me how to submit for my client!!”

I looked at him straight in his eyes and said:

“This is MY Chambers. You submit as and the way I tell you to”

I guess he was shocked that I’d answer him back because he then went on with his first issue straight away.

That was the only time he ever submitted before me. He is a good lawyer and I really like his structured way of presenting his case. However, sometimes, even the best lawyers can forget the simple basic rule of the legal fraternity. Counsels are officers of the Court. Their duty is to assist the Court to get to the most accurate and correct decision. Their client’s interest comes second when justice in question.

I once told another counsel that I am a biased judicial officer. I am biased towards justice…

At the end of the day, what the Court wants is the “facts right”, not the “right facts”…

Blog adjourned!

A What? Toll Booth??

I suppose I can say this on behalf of most, if not all, Senior Assistant Registrars in Malaysia that it’s quite difficult to explain to people what we actually do. I was a Senior Assistant Registrar / SAR (not Sekolah Agama Rendah!) or Penolong Kanan Pendaftar (PKP) from August 2007 – Mei 2008.

“Where do you work?”

“Kuala Lumpur High Court, you know, the new biggest court complex?”

“Ow… what do you do?”

“I’m a Senior Assistant Registrar”

“A WHAT??”

“I’m the Judge’s Toll Gate. I screen most of the application before it goes to the Judge”

“Oww…”

It’s so much easier explaining that I’m a Magistrate now… even an old grandma knows what a Magistrate is.

“Ow… what do you do?”

“I’m a Magistrate”

“HAAA??? SOO YOUNG??? Orangnye kocik ajo pulak tuu…”


Funny eh? I still remember my second interview when the interviewer asked me if I’d like to be a Senior Assistant Registrar. I said, “Honestly, I have never heard about Senior Assistant Registrar and I don’t even know what the job scope is. HOWEVER!!! I am willing to learn and since everything will be new to me, it matters not where you put me.” Then I grinned and smiled, trying not to sweat on my forehead. My interviewer smiled back at me…

Well, an SAR can be said as the Judge’s toll gate. I would be dealing with most of the interlocutory applications such as amendment of the statement of claim, garnishee proceedings, summary judgments, striking out applications etc etc. Apparently, beginning June 2008, there was a directive that SARs need not hear summary judgment and striking out applications anymore. Probably because most, if not all of the SAR’s decision is appealed and this would only delay the matters in court.

In dealing with the interlocutory applications, an SAR would be dealing with lawyers in chambers. Since High Court matters are worth RM 250,000 and above, most of the lawyers are very senior and experienced. I honestly learned so so much from them. Hence the reason why I never allowed for written submission and only allow oral submission with a skeletal draft. This way, I could get some free lesson on advocacy skills.

Read. I read my files. I read all of my files before my matters, especially if the counsel is late. After a while, I knew where to look and find the usual errors. Once, I corrected one counsel’s application before him. Coincidentally, he was my cousin’s friend and he told him (my cousin) that it’s difficult to lie to me because I read my files.

I also heard that there were some (only some) lawyers who were afraid to submit before me. That’s odd. There I was, fresh in the service with no prior litigation experience, and these senior lawyers were afraid of me??

Decisions? Yes, I write my decisions. All of them. I would take a lot of time to read all of the affidavits, skeletal submissions, bundle of authorities submitted and “try” to write a solid decision. You can ask the Bride how I would suddenly scribble something while we were out walking in the mall because I got some revelation on how to justify my reasoning. I took much pain in doing my work. I’d also read out my decisions to the parties. Some asked me for a copy but I never did give them a copy. Not because I was afraid of writing something wrong but because I did not want people to expect all SAR to prepare their reasoning. (Aku je yang poyo nak menulis panjang-panjang). A few of my decisions have been upheld by my Judge on appeal. The rest are still pending appeal.

I guess it’ll be difficult to know what will happen to my decisions since I’m no longer there to monitor the files…

Oh well…Blog adjourned!

Care to use mine?

Whenever I go up on the Bench, I would wear my glasses. I don't have much power on it but it helps me have a more powerful stare when I am up there. It also makes me look more serious... Hahaha... Actually, it helps to make me look slightly older. (I always get stopped for my ID when I go to above 18 places or even when I wanted to buy ciggies last time.)



Today, I had a full day trial. Manage to complete 3 witnesses in two sittings. One before lunch and two in the afternoon. during the Cross Examination for the 3rd witness, the defence counsel requested for some time as he read through the police report. He said that the writings were a bit small and he couldn't see properly.



That was when I took off mine and asked him, "care to use mine?"



The three police officers in my court wanted to laugh so badly that all three had their hands at their mouth with red faces. (If I am not mistaken, only one was on duty and the other two were doing some paperwork).



I smiled and put my glasses back on and waited for the defence counsel to count the paragraph he wanted to refer to. He himself was trying to look serious and not smile (but I could see him smiling). I bit my tongue not to ask, "Why So Serious???"



Thank God I managed to keep my big mouth shut... The last time I heard someone say that, he was hung upside down by Mr. Batman...

(Excellent Movie by the way!!! I just don't understand why it is labelled as General Viewing... If the Joker's character can be loved and adored by adults, what guarantee do we have that underaged kids would not want to imitate the Joker and slash the mouth of another??)


Blog adjourned!!!

A fine too many (or much)...

A fine is probably the best way to punish a small time offender. There is no point putting one behind bars for minor traffic offences like beating a red light, double parking, expired road tax / insurance etc. In Malaysia, most of these minor offences are dealt with under the general section for punishment under S. 119 of the Road Transport Act 1987(RTA). S. 119 provides for a maximum fine of RM 2000 or imprisonment for not more than 6 months. Common offences like road tax and insurance have their own specific section under the RTA.

If you speak to the enforcement officers, they would tell me that they want a heavy fine. Apparently, some of the fines can be paid at the Traffic Police Station or the Road Transport Department. The catch is that there can be only a minimum limit of discount available there. The Courts however, have a huge discretion to either further reduce the fine or to increase it. This depends on the mitigating factors submitted by the offender (should they plead guilty).

The informal rule of thumb is to grant 10% of the maximum fine. I was also told of a case law that demands for 10% of the maximum fine of the punishment if the case went for full trial. For example, if the maximum fine is RM2000, after full trial, the Court would grant RM 1800, than should the offender pleaded guilty at the first instance, a fine of RM180 would be imposed.

Again, I stress that these are mere informal guidelines. At the end of the day, the final amount ranges from case to case and circumstances to circumstances. Sometimes, I sentence them to only RM50 and at times it can balloon up to RM400. I like to keep a very random figure in my sentence. I have been asked to give a round number like RM50, 100, 150 etc by my prosecuting officer as it is quite a hassle to get the exact change. I think RM60, 70, 80, 90,110,120,130,140 are also round numbers. I cannot limit my discretion on that score. I like it that my sentences are random. People cannot guess what they would get in my Court. Besides, I have a valid reason for varying my fines.

Apparently, it has been known that it is easy to make “money” at the traffic court. Say the maximum fine is RM2000, some irresponsible bugger explains to the offender that he can talk to the Magistrate to give only RM200 fine but the offender must pay RM300. RM25 will be for himself and RM75 is for the Magistrate. The poor chap, thinking he is about to get a discount of RM 1700 agrees and pays the bugger RM300. The Magistrate, not knowing about the secret deal behind him, fines the offender RM200. Now the Magistrate’s name and integrity is in jeopardy. (Hey, it rhymes...)

The moment I got in here, I made sure that I do not, under any circumstances, tolerate corruption. I think I have made myself quite clear with my staff, police and prosecuting officers. I also keep a close look out inside and outside my Court for any wrongful act. That’s the least I could do. Other than that, I make daily prayer’s from the Big One up There to help me against those who make false accusation (fitnah).

Someone told me that if I ever accept bribery, even for just one time, I’d have my balls gripped by some unknown force to be used against me at anytime. Ouch!!! Me no likey… I told him that if anyone wants to bribe me for a sum less than 1 Million, I’d say it’s too little. If it’s more than 1 Million, I’d say it’s too much… So go fly kite…

Blog adjourned!

Crying for the Junkies

Well this is an interesting experience. Somehow I thought I should have opted for some human psychology when I was in my tertiary education. I would have enjoyed having some structured lesson on psychology than just applying some trial and error method.
You see, as a Magistrate, we have to conduct an enquiry for “penagih” or narcotic addict (or in a very harsh term, a drug junky). For more read on the nature of this enquiry, see SATHIYAMURTHI v PENGUASA/KOMANDAN PUSAT PEMULIHAN KARANGAN, KEDAH [2006]4CLJ 862.

The power to do so is derived from section 6 of the Drug Dependants (Treatment And Rehabilitation) Act 1983. In other words, it is commonly referred to as “Section 6” here. The process is simple, the Agensi Anti Dadah Kebangsaan (AADK or National Anti Drugs Agency) will bring the narcotic addicts into court for the Magistrate to order whether they be sent under police supervision or to rehabilitation (pusat serenti). We normally follow the advice of the AADK when making such order. (click here for more information about AADK).

I have developed my own style for this enquiry since I never had the opportunity to see any of my colleagues in action before. I would give the addicts a small lecture if I want to grant him police supervision or I wouldn’t say much if the order is for him to be sent for rehab.

Today was interesting. Many of the addict’s family members were present in court. I took this situation to my advantage. The moment I see that the AADK proposes for 2 years police supervision, and after filling up the necessary details in the form and ask them for their appeal, I’d ask if their family members were present. You can now see mothers, sons, daughters, sisters, brothers, cousins of the addicts standing up. This is what happened to one of the addicts whose sister, some other relative and his 3 children were also present:

Me: Can you (the drug addict) please turn and look at your family members?

Drug Addict: (turns his body slowly) by this time, the family members started crying…

Me: Now tell me their feelings…

Drug Addict: They are crying and they are sad…

Me: Why are they crying? Why are they sad?

Drug Addict: Because I took drugs.. (he had tears in his eyes as well)

His youngest son, I think about 14 years old was really crying and hugging his older brother and they both turned away from the father. All of his family members were also crying.

Me: Is that your youngest son?

Drug Addict: Yes…

Me: Is he disappointed that you took drugs?

Drug Addict: Yes.

Me: Do you want him to take drugs as well??

Drug Addict: NO!

Me: Look at your children, call their names and promise them you will NEVER EVER take drugs again!!!

Drug Addict: A, B and C… I promise I will never take drugs again!!!

The youngest kid was crying the loudest by now. Even though he was seated at the end of the court room, I could still hear him loud and clear.

Me: I suggest you should take this opportunity to stop being dependant to drugs and stop disappointing your family members especially your children. 2 years Police Supervision!

I also had one Indian addict whose mom was crying so badly when I asked him to look into his mother’s eyes and promise her that he won’t do drugs ever again. He promised and also asked his mother to stop crying… she wailed much louder. The chap was devastated. He couldn’t go and hug his mom as he was being cuffed to other addicts. (They need to be cuffed as there were too many of them and if they are not cuffed, they would definitely attempt to run away). While I was dealing with another addict, I saw the Indian chap’s mother fainted for a while beside another Indian man. She got up shortly after that. Thank God she didn’t get a heart attack!!!

Phew!!! The dramas in my Court today!!! I felt good after the Section 6 session. Apparently, not many Magistrates bother to take time and lecture the addicts released on Police Supervision. I feel that by sitting up there, my scolding (or lecture) carries much weight to these people. I consider that I have done a good job if they feel a slight remorse in what they do. Who knows they’d actually stop doing what they do just because a Magistrate showed that he cared about their disease and manage to make them understand what their relatives (especially parents or children) feel about their addiction.

Oh well, May The Big One Up There grant them strength to leave such despicable addiction. I know it’s gonna be tough. I was badly affected when I decided to stop smoking cigarettes. And cigarettes are nothing compared to drugs…

Blog adjourned!